Wireless, motion and position-sensing, integrating radiation sensor for occupational and environmental dosimetry

ABSTRACT

Described is a radiation dosimeter including multiple sensor devices (including one or more passive integrating electronic radiation sensor, a MEMS accelerometers, a wireless transmitters and, optionally, a GPS, a thermistor, or other chemical, biological or EMF sensors) and a computer program for the simultaneous detection and wireless transmission of ionizing radiation, motion and global position for use in occupational and environmental dosimetry. The described dosimeter utilizes new processes and algorithms to create a self-contained, passive, integrating dosimeter. Furthermore, disclosed embodiments provide the use of MEMS and nanotechnology manufacturing techniques to encapsulate individual ionizing radiation sensor elements within a radiation attenuating material that provides a “filtration bubble” around the sensor element, the use of multiple attenuating materials (filters) around multiple sensor elements, and the use of a software algorithm to discriminate between different types of ionizing radiation and different radiation energy.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/654,162 to Valentino et al., entitled WIRELESS.MOTION AND POSITION-SENSING. INTEGRATING RADIATION SENSOR FOROCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DOSIMETERY, filed Jun. 1, 2012, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to detection systems and networks ofdetectors and, particularly, to the design of a sensor system capable ofdetecting and quantifying a measurable event, such as an exposure toionizing radiation, by recording the time, location, ambienttemperature, motion and intensity of the event; accurately calculatingthe equivalent absorbed dose due to the radiation event; mapping thedistribution of events by using data collected from a large number ofsensor systems over a wireless network; and predicting the probableseverity of the event by analysis of the collected sensor network data.

2. Background of the Invention

Occupational radiation exposure events can occur in healthcare, the oiland gas industry, the military and other industrial settings where theuse of materials or devices that emit ionizing radiation can result inaccidental or occupationally unavoidable exposure events.

Emergency radiation exposure events can occur when a RadiologicalDispersal Device (RDD), Improvised Nuclear Device (IND), or anothersource of radioactive material is released and contaminates a givenarea.

Radiation dosimetry programs have been developed to monitor and protectworkers who might be exposed to radiation. The personal dose equivalent,measured using a radiation dosimeter, is commonly used to monitorradiation dose to an individual. The accurate and reliable measurementof the personal dose equivalent from a radiation exposure event is a keycomponent of radiation dosimetry. The personal dose equivalent istypically measured over a wide range of energies and from differentradiation sources, which might include x-rays, gamma rays, alphaparticles, beta particles and neutrons. In order to accurately estimatethe dose from different radiation sources, many personal dosimetersincorporate an array of detector elements, each with varying types ofradiation filtration materials, and use a dose calculation algorithm toaccurately calculate the personal dose equivalent from a numericalcombination of the responses from each detector element.

More recently, emergency management plans have been developed to enablethe safe and timely response to emergency radiation events. An importantaspect of any emergency management plan following a radiation event isto ensure the safety of fire, police and other emergency responsepersonnel (“First Responders”), health-care workers, and citizens thatmight be exposed to radiation resulting from the radiological or nucleardevice. Radiation exposure of first responders and health-care workersis often, at least partially, monitored using traditional radiationdetecting devices, however, monitoring the exposure of potentially tensof thousands of citizens presents a more difficult problem.

Furthermore, after removable contamination has been eliminated, theremay be a need for external personal dosimetry monitoring for individualmembers of the public as well as large numbers of workers. Siterestoration could be a lengthy project and, to minimize disruption tosociety, it may be necessary to allow inhabitants to have access tocertain areas before cleanup is complete. For example, allowing citizensto pass through transit centers, thoroughfares, or certain areas ofbuildings would facilitate government operations, commerce, uniting offamilies, routine medical treatments, etc. As an individual movesthrough a contaminated area, it would be valuable to know the dose andtime of exposure at each location visited. Such dose measurements couldreduce reliance on model-based estimates of dose, and avoid unnecessaryarea restrictions by providing a geographic map of the dynamic dosedistribution reconstructed from a large number of dosimeters collectingdose event data over the potentially still-contaminated area. Unlikecleanup at decommissioned facilities where the public could be excludedwith little cost to society, in an urban environment, time is of theessence and the cost of exclusion may be greater than the benefitavoiding exposure to a relatively low radiation dose. After cleanup,personal dosimetry could boost public confidence that their personaldose is below acceptable thresholds, and that the final cleanup waseffective.

In the case of radiation events, several radiation measurementtechnologies currently exist including TLD dosimeters. OSL dosimeters,electronic dosimeters, quartz or carbon fiber electrets, and othersolid-state radiation measurement devices.

Thermoluminescent Dosimeter (TLD) badges are personal monitoring devicesusing a special material (i.e. lithium fluoride) that retains depositedenergy from radiation. TLD badges are read using heat, which causes theTLD material to emit light that is detected by a TLD reader (calibratedto provide a proportional electric current). Significant disadvantagesof TLD badges are that the signal of the device is erased or zeroed outduring read-out, substantial time is required to obtain the reading, andthe dosimeters must be returned to a processing laboratory for readout.

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) badges use an opticallystimulated luminescent material (OSLM) (i.e., aluminum oxide) to retainradiation energy. Tiny crystal traps within the OSL material trap andstore energy from radiation exposure. The amount of exposure isdetermined by illuminating the crystal traps with a stimulating light ofone color (i.e., green) and measuring the amount of emitted light ofanother color (i.e., blue). Alternatively, pulsed light stimulation canbe used to differentiate between the stimulation and emission light[e.g., see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,892,234 and 5,962,857. Unlike TLD systems.OSL systems provide a readout in only a few seconds and, because only avery small fraction of the exposure signal is depleted during readout,the dosimeters can be readout multiple times. OSL dosimeters can be readin the field using small, field-transportable readers, however, thereaders are still too large, slow and expensive to allow individual,real-time readings in the field. In currently-existing OSL dosimetryprograms for reporting the dose of record, the dosimeters must bereturned to a processing laboratory for readout.

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) badges use an opticallystimulated luminescent material (OSLM) (i.e., aluminum oxide) to retainradiation energy. Tiny crystal traps within the OSL material trap andstore energy from radiation exposure. The amount of exposure isdetermined by illuminating the crystal traps with a stimulating light ofone color (i.e., green) and measuring the amount of emitted light ofanother color (i.e., blue). Alternatively, pulsed light stimulation canbe used to differentiate between the stimulation and emission light[e.g., see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,892,234 and 5,962,857. Unlike TLD systems.OSL systems provide a readout in only a few seconds and, because only avery small fraction of the exposure signal is depleted during readout,the dosimeters can be readout multiple times. OSL dosimeters can be readin the field using small, field-transportable readers, however, thereaders are still too large, slow and expensive to allow individual,real-time readings in the field. In currently-existing OSL dosimetryprograms for reporting the dose of record, the dosimeters must bereturned to a processing laboratory for readout. For more information onOSL materials and systems, see. U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,590 issued toMiller; U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,434 issued to Akselrod; U.S. Pat. No.6,198,108 issued to Schwietzer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,685 issued toYoder et al.; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/768,094 filed byAkselrod et al.; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entireties. See also, Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dosimetry,Lars Botter-Jensen et al., Elesevier, 2003; Klemic, G., Bailey, P.,Miller, K., Monetti, M. External radiation dosimetry in the aftermath ofradiological terrorist event, Rad. Prot. Dosim, in press; Akslerod, M.S., Kortov, V. S., and Gorelova. E. A., Preparation and properties ofAl.sub.20.sub.3:C. Radiat. Prot Dosim 47, 159-164 (1993); and Akselrod,M. S., Lucas, A. C., Polf, J. C., McKeever, S. W. S. Opticallystimulated luminescence of Al.sub.20.sub.3:C. Radiation Measurements,29, (3-4), 391-399 (1998), all of which are incorporated by reference intheir entireties.

Solid State Sensors use solid-phase materials such as semiconductors toquantify radiation interaction through the collection of charge in thesemiconductor media. As the radiation particle travels through thesemiconductor media electron-hole pairs are generated along the particlepath. The motion of the electron-hole pair in an applied electric fieldgenerates the basic electrical signal from the detector. There are twomain categories of solid state sensors, active and passive. Activesensors often use a semiconductor that is biased by an externallypowered electric field that requires constant power. The active sensorsgenerate electric pulses for each radioactive particle striking thesensor. These pulses must be continuously counted to record the correctradiation dose. A loss of power means no dose is measured. Active solidstate sensors are typically made from silicon and other semiconductors.Passive solid state sensors utilize an on device charged medium thatmaintains the electric field necessary to separate the electron-holepairs without drawing external power. Passive solid state dosimetersoften use what is called a floating gate where the gate is embeddedwithin the detection medium so it electronically isolated. The floatinggate is charged and provides the electric field for charge separation.See U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,368 issued to Tarr. The medium above thefloating gate is typically an insulator such as silicon oxide however itcan also be a sealed gas chamber. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,739,541 issued toKahilainen. Passive Solid state electronic detectors offer a means ofmonitoring radiation that are compatible the present invention.

Electronic dosimeters are battery powered, and typically incorporate adigital display or other visual, audio or vibration alarming capability.These instruments often provide real-time dose rate information to thewearer. For routine occupational radiation settings in the U.S.electronic dosimeters are mostly, but not strictly, used for accesscontrol and not for dose of record. A number of cities and states issueelectronic dosimeters to HAZMAT teams as part of their emergencyresponse plans. There are presently tens of thousands of electronicdosimeters deployed, for example, for homeland security purposes,however, electronic dosimeters are impractical for widespread usedosimeters due to their high cost.

Quartz or carbon fiber electrets are cylindrical electroscopes where thedose is read by holding it up to the light and viewing the location ofthe fiber on a scale through an eyepiece at one end. A manually poweredcharger is needed to zero the dosimeter. The quartz fiber electret is animportant element of many state emergency plans. For example, some planscall for emergency responders to be issued a quartz fiber electret alongwith a card for recording the reading every 30 minutes, as well as acumulative dosimetry badge or wallet card. While they are specified foruse in nuclear power plant emergencies, the NRC does not require them tobe NVLAP accredited, only that they be calibrated periodically.

Existing passive personal radiation monitoring devices do not provideimmediate access to recorded dose measurements, while active devicestypically consume sufficient power to require regular recharging. Noexisting devices measure the complete “radiation event.”

In general, a need exists for “event detection” devices, e.g., radiationdosimeters or other detection devices, with the followingcharacteristics: (1) small and easily carried or mounted to fixedstructures or mobile transports; (2) capable of measuring a dose event,including the measured amplitude or intensity of the event, time of theevent, location of the event, ambient temperature, motion of thedetector and proximity to other detectors; (3) accurate calculation ofthe dose, e.g., the Personal Dose Equivalent, over a wide dose range,wide energy range, and large angles of incidence; (4) ability to displaythe measured dose event on the detector, or using a personal mobiledevice, in order to alert the User to anomalous events, and in order totransmit the measured dose over private and public networks to a doseevent repository; (5) ability to track and report dose events in thefield over extended periods of time without replacing or externallycharging the power source; (6) ability to map the distribution of doseover a geographic area, to identify anomalous dose distributions, todynamically track sources and to alert Authorized Personnel of anomalousdose events.

SUMMARY

According to a first broad aspect, the present invention provides adevice comprising a radiation sensor array comprising one or moreradiation sensors mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB), wherein theone or more radiation sensors are surrounded by a filter material toprovide an optimal angular response.

According to a second broad aspect, the present invention provides anintegrated sensor module comprising a radiation sensor array, anon-board motion sensor, an on-board geospatial positioning sensor, anon-board power harvester, an on-board wireless transmitter, and anon-board temperature sensor.

According to a third broad aspect, the present invention provides anintegrated sensor module comprising a radiation sensor array, anon-board motion sensor, an on-board geospatial positioning sensor, anon-board power harvester, an on-board wireless transmitter and anon-board temperature sensor.

According to a fourth broad aspect, the present invention provides anautonomous mobile sensor network for tracking a position anddistribution of materials comprising an integrated sensor modulecomprising a radiation sensor array, an on-board motion sensor, anon-board geospatial positioning sensor, an on-board power harvester, anon-board wireless transmitter, and an on-board temperature sensor. Theautonomous mobile sensor network may also include a communicationdevice, a wireless network, a public data network, and a remote dataserver, wherein the communication device is configured to communicatewith the integrated sensor module and the wireless network; wherein thewireless network is also configured to communicate with the public datanetwork; and wherein the public data network is also configured tocommunicate with the remote data server.

According to a fifth broad aspect, the present invention provides anautonomous mobile wireless sensor base station network for tracking aposition and distribution of materials comprising an integrated sensormodule comprising a radiation sensor array, an on-board motion sensor,an on-board geospatial positioning sensor, an on-board power harvester,an on-board wireless transmitter and an on-board temperature sensor. Theautonomous mobile wireless sensor base station network a wireless sensorbase station, a wireless network, a public data network and adistributed data server, wherein the wireless sensor base station isconfigured to communicate with the integrated sensor module and thewireless network; wherein the wireless network is also configured tocommunicate with the public data network; and wherein the public datanetwork is also configured to communicate with the distributed dataserver.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitutepart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of theinvention, and, together with the general description given above andthe detailed description given below, serve to explain the features ofthe invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a split sphere encapsulating “filtration bubble” fora plurality of ionizing radiation sensors according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an integrated sensor module according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a remote sensor network according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an autonomous mobile sensor (AMS) network accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an integrated sensor module logic flow according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a sensor readout logic flow according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a point of exposure readout logic flow according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a wireless sensor base station configurationaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a computational procedure according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of the disclosed computational procedurefor employing an algorithm according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Definitions

Where the definition of terms departs from the commonly used meaning ofthe term, applicant intends to utilize the definitions provided below,unless specifically indicated.

For the purposes of the present invention, directional terms such as“top”, “bottom”, “upper”, “lower”. “above”, “below”, “left”. “right”,“horizontal”, “vertical”, “upward”, “downward”, etc., are merely usedfor convenience in describing the various embodiments of the presentinvention.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “accelerometer”refers to an electromechanical device for measuring acceleration forcesincluding static or dynamic forces. An accelerometer measures properacceleration, which is the acceleration it experiences relative to freefall and is the acceleration felt by people and objects. Put anotherway, at any point in space time the equivalence principle guarantees theexistence of a local inertial frame, and an accelerometer measures theacceleration relative to that frame.[1] Such accelerations are popularlymeasured in terms of g-force. Single- and multi-axis models ofaccelerometer are available to detect magnitude and direction of theproper acceleration (or g-force), as a vector quantity, and can be usedto sense orientation (because direction of weight changes), coordinateacceleration (so long as it produces g-force or a change in g-force),vibration, shock, and falling in a resistive medium (a case where theproper acceleration changes, since it starts at zero, then increases).Micro-machined accelerometers are increasingly present in portableelectronic devices and video game controllers, to detect the position ofthe device or provide for game input. Pairs of accelerometers extendedover a region of space can be used to detect differences (gradients) inthe proper accelerations of frames of references associated with thosepoints. These devices are called gravity gradiometers, as they measuregradients in the gravitational field. Such pairs of accelerometers intheory may also be able to detect gravitational waves.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “angle of incidence”refers to the angle between the direction of the radiation trajectoryand a line perpendicular (normal) to the detector surface.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “autonomous mobilesensor (AMS) network” refers a network of independently functioningmobile sensors, each capable of moving in response to the intensity ofthe detected event and their proximity to the other mobile sensors, suchthat the group of mobile sensors automatically follows the dynamicdistribution of the tracked entity as the intensity changes over time ordistributes over a geographic region or within a building or structure.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “ANT” or “ANT+’refers to a proprietary wireless sensor network technology featuring awireless communications protocol stack that enables semiconductor radiosoperating in the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical allocationof the RF spectrum (“ISM band”) to communicate by establishing standardrules for co-existence, data representation, signaling, authentication,and error detection. ANT is characterized by a low computationaloverhead and low to medium efficiency, resulting in low powerconsumption by the radios supporting the protocol.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “Bluetooth®” refersto a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over shortdistances (using short-wavelength radio transmissions in the ISM bandfrom 2400-2480 MHz) from fixed and mobile devices, creating personalarea networks (PANs) with high levels of security. Created by telecomvendor Ericsson in 1994, it was originally conceived as a wirelessalternative to RS-232 data cables. It can connect several devices,overcoming problems of synchronization. Bluetooth® is managed by theBluetooth® Special Interest Group, which has more than 18,000 membercompanies in the areas of telecommunication, computing, networking, andconsumer electronics. Bluetooth® was standardized as IEEE 802.15.1, butthe standard is no longer maintained. The SIG oversees the developmentof the specification, manages the qualification program, and protectsthe trademarks. To be marketed as a Bluetooth® device, it must bequalified to standards defined by the SIG. A network of patents isrequired to implement the technology and are licensed only for thosequalifying devices.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term a “chemical sensor”refers to a device that measures the presence, concentration or absolutequantity of a given chemical entity, such as an element or molecule, ineither a gas, liquid or solid phase.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “cloud computing” issynonymous with computing performed by computers that are locatedremotely and accessed via the Internet (the “Cloud”). It is a style ofcomputing where the computing resources are provided “as a service”,allowing users to access technology-enabled services “in the cloud”without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technologyinfrastructure that supports them. According to the IEEE ComputerSociety it “is a paradigm in which information is permanently stored inservers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that includedesktops, entertainment centers, table computers, notebooks, wallcomputers, handhelds, etc.” Cloud computing is a general concept thatincorporates virtualized storage, computing and web services and, often,software as a service (SaaS), where the common theme is reliance on theInternet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. For example,Google Apps provides common business applications online that areaccessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored onthe servers. Some successful cloud architectures may have little or noestablished infrastructure or billing systems whatsoever includingPeer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent and Skype and volunteer computinglike SETI@home. The majority of cloud computing infrastructure currentlyconsists of reliable services delivered through next-generation datacenters that are built on computer and storage virtualizationtechnologies. The services may be accessible anywhere in the world, withthe Cloud appearing as a single point of access for all the computingneeds of data consumers. Commercial offerings may need to meet thequality of service requirements of customers and may offer service levelagreements. Open standards and open source software are also critical tothe growth of cloud computing. As customers generally do not own theinfrastructure, they are merely accessing or renting, they may foregocapital expenditure and consume resources as a service, paying insteadfor what they use. Many cloud computing offerings have adopted theutility computing model which is analogous to how traditional utilitieslike electricity are consumed, while others are billed on a subscriptionbasis. By sharing “perishable and intangible” computing power betweenmultiple tenants, utilization rates may be improved (as servers are notleft idle) which can reduce costs significantly while increasing thespeed of application development. A side effect of this approach is that“computer capacity rises dramatically” as customers may not have toengineer for peak loads. Adoption has been enabled by “increasedhigh-speed bandwidth” which makes it possible to receive the sameresponse times from centralized infrastructure at other sites.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “computer” refers toa machine that manipulates data according to a sequence of instructionsstored on a machine readable medium. A computer may include one or moreprocessors that that execute such a sequence of instructions to causeone or more electronic devices, often including the computer itself, toperform a set of operations. Personal computers, in various forms, areicons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as a“computer”; however, the most common form of computer in use today isthe embedded computer. Embedded computers are small, simple devices thatare used to control other devices—for example, they may be found inmachines ranging from fighter aircraft to industrial robots, digitalcameras, and children's toys. The ability to store and execute lists ofinstructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile anddistinguishes them from calculators. The Church-Turing thesis is amathematical statement of this versatility: any computer with a certainminimum capability is, in principle, capable of performing the sametasks that any other computer can perform. Therefore, computers withcapability and complexity ranging from that of a personal digitalassistant to a supercomputer are all able to perform the samecomputational tasks given enough time and storage capacity. Computersare indispensable for the analysis of large amounts of data, for tasksthat require complex computation, or for the extraction of quantitativeinformation.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “computer hardware”is the digital circuitry and physical devices of a computer system, asopposed to computer software, which is stored on a hardware device suchas a hard disk. Most computer hardware is not seen by normal users,because it is embedded within a variety of every day systems, such as inautomobiles, microwave ovens, electrocardiograph machines, compact discplayers, and video games, among many others. A typical personal computerconsists of a case or chassis in a tower shape (desktop) and thefollowing parts: motherboard, CPU, RAM, firmware, internal buses (PIC,PCI-E, USB, HyperTransport, CSI, AGP, VLB), external bus controllers(parallel port, serial port, USB, Firewire, SCSI. PS/2, ISA, EISA, MCA),power supply, case control with cooling fan, storage controllers(CD-ROM, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD Writer, DVD RAM Drive, Blu-ray. BD-ROM, BDWriter, floppy disk, USB Flash, tape drives, SATA, SAS), videocontroller, sound card, network controllers (modem, NIC), andperipherals, including mice, keyboards, pointing devices, gamingdevices, scanner, webcam, audio devices, printers, monitors, etc.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “computer network”refers to a group of interconnected computers. Networks may beclassified according to a wide variety of characteristics. The mostcommon types of computer networks in order of scale include: PersonalArea Network (PAN), Local Area Network (LAN), Campus Area Network (CAN),Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Global AreaNetwork (GAN), Internetwork (intranet, extranet, Internet), and varioustypes of wireless networks. All networks are made up of basic hardwarebuilding blocks to interconnect network nodes, such as Network InterfaceCards (NICs), Bridges, Hubs, Switches, and Routers. In addition, somemethod of connecting these building blocks is required, usually in theform of galvanic cable (most commonly category 5 cable). Less common aremicrowave links (as in IEEE 802.11) or optical cable (“optical fiber”).

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “computer software”refers to a general term used to describe a collection of computerprograms, procedures and documentation that perform some tasks on acomputer system. The term includes application software such as wordprocessors which perform productive tasks for users, system softwaresuch as operating systems, which interface with hardware to provide thenecessary services for application software, and middleware whichcontrols and co-ordinates distributed systems. Software may includewebsites, programs, video games, etc. that are coded by programminglanguages like C, C++, Java, etc. Computer software is usually regardedas anything but hardware, meaning the “hard” are the parts that aretangible (able to hold) while the “soft” part is the intangible objectsinside the computer. Computer software is so called to distinguish itfrom computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnectionsand devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At thelowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to anindividual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binaryvalues signifying processor instructions which change the state of thecomputer from its preceding state.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “computer system”refers to any type of computer system that implements software includingan individual computer such as a personal computer, mainframe computer,mini-computer, etc. In addition, computer system refers to any type ofnetwork of computers, such as a network of computers in a business, theInternet, personal data assistant (PDA), devices such as a cell phone, atelevision, a videogame console, a compressed audio or video player suchas an MP3 player, a DVD player, a microwave oven, etc. A personalcomputer is one type of computer system that typically includes thefollowing components: a case or chassis in a tower shape (desktop) andthe following parts: motherboard, CPU, RAM, firmware, internal buses(PIC. PCI-E, USB, HyperTransport, CSI, AGP, VLB), external buscontrollers (parallel port, serial port, USB, Firewire, SCSI, PS/2, ISA,EISA, MCA), power supply, case control with cooling fan, storagecontrollers (CD-ROM, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD Writer, DVD RAM Drive, Blu-ray,BD-ROM, BD Writer, floppy disk, USB Flash, tape drives, SATA, SAS),video controller, sound card, network controllers (modem, NIC), andperipherals, including mice, keyboards, pointing devices, gamingdevices, scanner, webcam, audio devices, printers, monitors, etc.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “data” means thereinterpretable representation of information in a formalized mannersuitable for communication, interpretation, or processing. Although onetype of common type data is a computer file, data may also be streamingdata, a web service, etc. The term “data” is used to refer to one ormore pieces of data.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “database” or “datarecord” refers to a structured collection of records or data that isstored in a computer system. The structure is achieved by organizing thedata according to a database model. The model in most common use todayis the relational model. Other models such as the hierarchical model andthe network model use a more explicit representation of relationchips(see below for explanation of the various database models). A computerdatabase relies upon software to organize the storage of data. Thissoftware is known as a database management system (DBMS). Databasemanagement systems are categorized according to the database model thatthey support. The model tends to determine the query languages that areavailable to access the database. A great deal of the internalengineering of a DBMS, however, is independent of the data model, and isconcerned with managing factors such as performance, concurrency,integrity, and recovery from hardware failures. In these areas there arelarge differences between products.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “database managementsystem (DBMS)” represents computer software designed for the purpose ofmanaging databases based on a variety of data models. A DBMS is a set ofsoftware programs that controls the organization, storage, management,and retrieval of data in a database. DBMS are categorized according totheir data structures or types. It is a set of prewritten programs thatare used to store, update and retrieve a Database.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “data storagemedium” or “data storage device” refers to any medium or media on whicha data may be stored for use by a computer system. Examples of datastorage media include floppy disks. Zip™ disks, CD-ROM. CD-R, CD-RW,DVD, DVD-R, memory sticks, flash memory, hard disks, solid state disks,optical disks, etc. Two or more data storage media acting similarly to asingle data storage medium may be referred to as a “data storage medium”for the purposes of the present invention.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “dosimeter” refersto a device for measuring an individual's or an object's exposure tosomething in the environment —particularly to a hazard inflictingcumulative impact over long periods of time, or over a lifetime. Thisarticle concentrates on the radiation dosimeter, which measures exposureto ionizing radiation. The radiation dosimeter is of fundamentalimportance in the disciplines of radiation dosimetry and health physics.Other types of dosimeters are sound dosimeters, ultraviolet dosimetersand electromagnetic field dosimeters. Ionizing radiation, such asX-rays, alpha rays, beta rays, and gamma rays, are undetectable by thehuman senses, therefore a measuring device, such as a dosimeter, is usedto detect, measure and record this, and in some cases give an alarm whena preset level is exceeded. Ionizing radiation damage to the body iscumulative, and is related to the total dose received, for which the SIunit is the sievert. Therefore, workers exposed to radiation, such asradiographers, nuclear power plant workers, doctors using radiotherapy,those in laboratories using radionuclides, and some HAZMAT teams arerequired to wear dosimeters so their employers can keep a record oftheir exposure to verify that it is below legally prescribed limits.Such devices may be recognized as “legal dosimeters,” meaning that theyhave been approved for use in recording personnel dose for regulatorypurposes.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “energy compensatingmaterial” refers to a material that when placed between an OSLM and asource of gamma radiation or x-ray radiation alters the response over arange of gamma energies or x-ray energies compared to the OSLM exposedwith no compensating or filtering material. Examples of energycompensating materials are copper and aluminum.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “flocking-algorithm”refers to an computational procedure that allows a network of mobilesensors to move as a function of each sensor's proximity to other mobilesensors as well as the intensity or amplitude of a measured event, suchthat the network of mobile sensors moves autonomously in a concerted,self-organized fashion that tracks the dynamic motion and distributionof the measured event.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “Internet” is aglobal system of interconnected computer networks that interchange databy packet switching using the standardized Internet Protocol Suite(TCP/IP). It is a “network of networks” that consists of millions ofprivate and public, academic, business, and government networks of localto global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables,wireless connections, and other technologies. The Internet carriesvarious information resources and services, such as electronic mail,online chat, file transfer and file sharing, online gaming, and theinter-linked hypertext documents and other resources of the World WideWeb (WWW).

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “Internet protocol(IP)” refers to a protocol used for communicating data across apacket-switched internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP).IP is the primary protocol in the Internet Layer of the InternetProtocol Suite and has the task of delivering datagrams (packets) fromthe source host to the destination host solely based on its address. Forthis purpose the Internet Protocol defines addressing methods andstructures for datagram encapsulation. The first major version ofaddressing structure, now referred to as Internet Protocol Version 4(Ipv4) is still the dominant protocol of the Internet, although thesuccessor. Internet Protocol Version 6 (Ipv6) is actively deployedworld-wide. In one embodiment, an EGI-SOA of the present invention maybe specifically designed to seamlessly implement both of theseprotocols.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “intranet” refers toa set of networks, using the Internet Protocol and IP-based tools suchas web browsers and file transfer applications that are under thecontrol of a single administrative entity. That administrative entitycloses the intranet to all but specific, authorized users. Mostcommonly, an intranet is the internal network of an organization. Alarge intranet will typically have at least one web server to provideusers with organizational information. Intranets may or may not haveconnections to the Internet. If connected to the Internet, the intranetis normally protected from being accessed from the Internet withoutproper authorization. The Internet is not considered to be a part of theintranet.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “ionizing radiation”refers to any particulate or electromagnetic radiation that is capableof dissociating atoms into a positively and negatively charged ion pair.The present invention may be used to determine doses of both directlyionizing radiation and indirectly ionizing radiation. Ionizing (orionising) radiation is radiation composed of particles that individuallycarry enough kinetic energy to liberate an electron from an atom ormolecule, ionizing it. Ionizing radiation is generated through nuclearreactions, either artificial or natural, by very high temperature (e.g.,plasma discharge or the corona of the Sun), via production of highenergy particles in particle accelerators, or due to acceleration ofcharged particles by the electromagnetic fields produced by naturalprocesses, from lightning to supernova explosions. When ionizingradiation is emitted by or absorbed by an atom, it can liberate anatomic particle (typically an electron, proton, or neutron, butsometimes an entire nucleus) from the atom. Such an event can alterchemical bonds and produce ions, usually in ion-pairs, that areespecially chemically reactive. This greatly magnifies the chemical andbiological damage per unit energy of radiation because chemical bondswill be broken in this process. If the atom was inside a crystal latticein a solid phase, then a “hole” will exist where the original atom was.Ionizing radiation includes cosmic rays, Alpha particles, Betaparticles, Gamma rays, X-rays, and in general any charged particlemoving at relativistic speeds. Neutrons are considered ionizingradiation at any speed. Ionizing radiation includes some portion of theultraviolet spectrum, depending on context. Radio waves, microwaves,infrared light, and visible light are normally considered non-ionizingradiation, although very high intensity beams of these radiations canproduce sufficient heat to exhibit some similar properties to ionizingradiation, by altering chemical bonds and removing electrons from atoms.Ionizing radiation is ubiquitous in the environment, and comes fromnaturally occurring radioactive materials and cosmic rays. Commonartificial sources are artificially produced radioisotopes, X-ray tubesand particle accelerators. Ionizing radiation is invisible and notdirectly detectable by human senses, so instruments such as Geigercounters are usually required to detect its presence. In some cases itmay lead to secondary emission of visible light upon interaction withmatter, such as in Cherenkov radiation and radioluminescence. It hasmany practical uses in medicine, research, construction, and otherareas, but presents a health hazard if used improperly. Exposure toionizing radiation causes damage to living tissue, and can result inmutation, radiation sickness, cancer, and death.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “ionizing radiationsensor” refers to a device that measures the presence or activity of amaterial or substance that emits or generates ionizing radiation.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “irradiation” refersto the conventional meaning of the term “irradiation”, i.e., exposure tohigh energy charge particles, e.g., electrons, protons, alpha particles,etc., or electromagnetic radiation of wave-lengths shorter than those ofvisible light, e.g., gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet, etc.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “local area network(LAN)” refers to a network covering a small geographic area, like ahome, office, or building. Current LANs are most likely to be based onEthernet technology. The cables to the servers are typically on Cat 5 eenhanced cable, which will support IEEE 802.3 at 1 Gbit/s. A wirelessLAN may exist using a different IEEE protocol, 802.11b, 802.11g orpossibly 802.11n. The defining characteristics of LANs, in contrast toWANs (wide area networks), include their higher data transfer rates,smaller geographic range, and lack of a need for leasedtelecommunication lines. Current Ethernet or other IEEE 802.3 LANtechnologies operate at speeds up to 10 Gbit's.

For the purposes of the current invention, the term “low poweredwireless network” refers to an ultra-low powered wireless networkbetween sensor nodes and a centralized device. The ultra-low power isneeded by devices that need to operate for extended periods of time fromsmall batteries energy scavenging technology. Examples of low poweredwireless networks are ANT, ANT+, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ZigBee andWiFi.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “MEMS” refers toMicro-Electro-Mechanical Systems. MEMS, is a technology that in its mostgeneral form may be defined as miniaturized mechanical andelectro-mechanical elements (i.e., devices and structures) that are madeusing the techniques of microfabrication. The critical physicaldimensions of MEMS devices can vary from well below one micron on thelower end of the dimensional spectrum, all the way to severalmillimeters. Likewise, the types of MEMS devices can vary fromrelatively simple structures having no moving elements, to extremelycomplex electromechanical systems with multiple moving elements underthe control of integrated microelectronics. A main criterion of MEMS mayinclude that there are at least some elements having some sort ofmechanical functionality whether or not these elements can move. Theterm used to define MEMS varies in different parts of the world. In theUnited States they are predominantly called MEMS, while in some otherparts of the world they are called “Microsystems Technology” or“micromachined devices.” While the functional elements of MEMS areminiaturized structures, sensors, actuators, and microelectronics, mostnotable elements may include microsensors and microactuators.Microsensors and microactuators may be appropriately categorized as“transducers,” which are defined as devices that convert energy from oneform to another. In the case of microsensors, the device typicallyconverts a measured mechanical signal into an electrical signal.

For the purposes of the present invention the term “mesh networking”refers to a type of networking where each node must not only capture anddisseminate its own data, but also serve as a relay for other nodes,that is, it must collaborate to propagate the data in the network. Amesh network can be designed using a flooding technique or a routingtechnique. When using a routing technique, the message is propagatedalong a path, by hopping from node to node until the destination isreached. To ensure all its paths' availability, a routing network mustallow for continuous connections and reconfiguration around broken orblocked paths, using self-healing algorithms. A mesh network whose nodesare all connected to each other is a fully connected network. Meshnetworks can be seen as one type of ad hoc network. Mobile ad hocnetworks and mesh networks are therefore closely related, but mobile adhoc networks also have to deal with the problems introduced by themobility of the nodes. The self-healing capability enables a routingbased network to operate when one node breaks down or a connection goesbad. As a result, the network is typically quite reliable, as there isoften more than one path between a source and a destination in thenetwork. Although mostly used in wireless situations, this concept isalso applicable to wired networks and software interaction.

For the purposes of the present invention the term “mobile ad hocnetwork” is a self-configuring infrastructureless network of mobiledevices connected by wireless. Ad hoc is Latin and means “for thispurpose”. Each device in a mobile ad hoc network is free to moveindependently in any direction, and will therefore change its links toother devices frequently. Each must forward traffic unrelated to its ownuse, and therefore be a router. The primary challenge in building amobile ad hoc network is equipping each device to continuously maintainthe information required to properly route traffic. Such networks mayoperate by themselves or may be connected to the larger Internet. Mobilead hoc networks are a kind of wireless ad hoc networks that usually hasa routable networking environment on top of a Link Layer ad hoc network.The growths of laptops and wireless networks have made mobile ad hocnetworks a popular research topic since the mid-1990s. Many academicpapers evaluate protocols and their abilities, assuming varying degreesof mobility within a bounded space, usually with all nodes within a fewhops of each other. Different protocols are then evaluated based onmeasure such as the packet drop rate, the overhead introduced by therouting protocol, end-to-end packet delays, network throughput etc.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “network hub” refersto an electronic device that contains multiple ports. When a packetarrives at one port, it is copied to all the ports of the hub fortransmission. When the packets are copied, the destination address inthe frame does not change to a broadcast address. It does this in arudimentary way, it simply copies the data to all of the Nodes connectedto the hub. This term is also known as hub. The term “Ethernet hub,”“active hub,” “network hub,” “repeater hub,” “multiport repeater” or“hub” may also refer to a device for connecting multiple Ethernetdevices together and making them act as a single network segment. It hasmultiple input/output (I/O) ports, in which a signal introduced at theinput of any port appears at the output of every port except theoriginal incoming. A hub works at the physical layer (layer 1) of theOSI model. The device is a form of multiport repeater. Repeater hubsalso participate in collision detection, forwarding a jam signal to allports if it detects a collision.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “radiationattenuating material” refers to a material that reduces the intensity ofincident radiation by absorbing some or all of the energy of theradiation within the material.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “radiationdosimetry” refers to the conventional meaning of the term “radiationdosimetry”, i.e., the measurement of the amount of radiation doseabsorbed in a material, an object or the body of an individual.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “radiation sensingmaterial” refers to a material used to sense radiation in a radiationsensor. Examples of radiation sensitive materials including opticallystimulated luminescent materials for OSL sensors, thermoluminescentmaterials for thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD) sensors, etc.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “random-accessmemory (RAM)” refers to a type of computer data storage. Today it takesthe form of integrated circuits that allow the stored data to beaccessed in any order, i.e. at random. The word random thus refers tothe fact that any piece of data can be returned in a constant time,regardless of its physical location and whether or not it is related tothe previous piece of data. This contrasts with storage mechanisms suchas tapes, magnetic discs and optical discs, which rely on the physicalmovement of the recording medium or a reading head. In these devices,the movement takes longer than the data transfer, and the retrieval timevaries depending on the physical location of the next item. The word RAMis mostly associated with volatile types of memory (such as DRAM memorymodules), where the information is lost after the power is switched off.However, many other types of memory are RAM as well, including mosttypes of ROM and a kind of flash memory called NOR-Flash.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “read-only memory(ROM)” refers to a class of storage media used in computers and otherelectronic devices. Because data stored in ROM cannot be modified (atleast not very quickly or easily), it is mainly used to distributefirmware (software that is very closely tied to specific hardware, andunlikely to require frequent updates). In its strictest sense, ROMrefers only to mask ROM (the oldest type of solid state ROM), which isfabricated with the desired data permanently stored in it, and thus cannever be modified. However, more modern types such as EPROM and flashEEPROM can be erased and re-programmed multiple times; they are stilldescribed as “read-only memory” because the reprogramming process isgenerally infrequent, comparatively slow, and often does not permitrandom access writes to individual memory locations.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “real-timeprocessing” refers to a processing system designed to handle workloadswhose state is constantly changing. Real-time processing means that atransaction is processed fast enough for the result to come back and beacted on as transaction events are generated. In the context of adatabase, real-time databases are databases that are capable of yieldingreliable responses in real-time.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “router” refers to anetworking device that forwards data packets between networks usingheaders and forwarding tables to determine the best path to forward thepackets. Routers work at the network layer of the TCP/IP model or layer3 of the OSI model. Routers also provide interconnectivity between likeand unlike media devices. A router is connected to at least twonetworks, commonly two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP's network.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “sensor” refers to acollector and/or producer of information and/or data. A sensor can be aninstrument or a living organism (e.g. a person). For example, a sensormay be a GPS device, a thermometer, a mobile phone, an individualwriting a report, etc. A sensor is an entity capable of observing aphenomenon and returning an observed value. For example, a mercurythermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion andcontraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated glass tube. Athermocouple converts temperature to an output voltage which can be readby a voltmeter. For accuracy, all sensors are often be calibratedagainst known standards. A sensor may include a device which detects ormeasures a physical property and records records, indicates, or respondsto that physical property.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “server” refers to asystem (software and suitable computer hardware) that responds torequests across a computer network to provide, or help to provide, anetwork service. Servers can be run on a dedicated computer, which isalso often referred to as “the server,” but many networked computers arecapable of hosting servers. In many cases, a computer can provideseveral services and have several servers running. Servers may operatewithin a client-server architecture and may comprise computer programsrunning to serve the requests of other programs—the clients. Thus, theserver may perform some task on behalf of clients. The clients typicallyconnect to the server through the network but may run on the samecomputer. In the context of Internet Protocol (IP) networking, a serveris a program that operates as a socket listener. Servers often provideessential services across a network, either to private users inside alarge organization or to public users via the Internet. Typicalcomputing servers are database server, file server, mail server, printserver, web server, gaming server, application server, or some otherkind of server. Numerous systems use this client/server networking modelincluding Web sites and email services. An alternative model,peer-to-peer networking may enable all computers to act as either aserver or client as needed.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “solid-stateelectronics” refers to those circuits or devices built entirely fromsolid materials and in which the electrons, or other charge carriers,are confined entirely within the solid material. The term is often usedto contrast with the earlier technologies of vacuum and gas-dischargetube devices and it is also conventional to exclude electro-mechanicaldevices (relays, switches, hard drives and other devices with movingparts) from the term solid state. While solid-state can includecrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous solids and refer toelectrical conductors, insulators and semiconductors, the buildingmaterial is most often a crystalline semiconductor. Common solid-statedevices include transistors, microprocessor chips, and RAM. Aspecialized type of RAM called flash RAM is used in flash drives andmore recently, solid state drives to replace mechanically rotatingmagnetic disc hard drives. More recently, the integrated circuit (IC),the light-emitting diode (LED), and the liquid-crystal display (LCD)have evolved as further examples of solid-state devices. In asolid-state component, the current is confined to solid elements andcompounds engineered specifically to switch and amplify it.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “solid state sensor”refers to sensor built entirely from a solid-phase material such thatthe electrons or other charge carriers produced in response to themeasured quantity stay entirely with the solid volume of the detector,as opposed to gas-discharge or electro-mechanical sensors. Puresolid-state sensors have no mobile parts and are distinct fromelectro-mechanical transducers or actuators in which mechanical motionis created proportional to the measured quantity.

For purposes of the present invention, the term the term “storagemedium” refers to any form of storage that may be used to store bits ofinformation. Examples of storage include both volatile and non-volatilememories such as MRRAM, MRRAM, ERAM, flash memory, RFID tags, floppydisks, Zip™ disks, CD-ROM. CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, flash memory, harddisks, optical disks, etc.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “transmissioncontrol protocol (TCP)” refers to one of the core protocols of theInternet Protocol Suite. TCP is so central that the entire suite isoften referred to as “TCPilP.” Whereas IP handles lower-leveltransmissions from computer to computer as a message makes its wayacross the Internet. TCP operates at a higher level, concerned only withthe two end systems, for example a Web browser and a Web server. Inparticular, TCP provides reliable, ordered delivery of a stream of bytesfrom one program on one computer to another program on another computer.Besides the Web, other common applications of TCP include e-mail andfile transfer. Among its management tasks, TCP controls message size,the rate at which messages are exchanged, and network trafficcongestion.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “time” refers to acomponent of a measuring system used to sequence events, to compare thedurations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify themotions of objects. Time is considered one of the few fundamentalquantities and is used to define quantities such as velocity. Anoperational definition of time, wherein one says that observing acertain number of repetitions of one or another standard cyclical event(such as the passage of a free-swinging pendulum) constitutes onestandard unit such as the second, has a high utility value in theconduct of both advanced experiments and everyday affairs of life.Temporal measurement has occupied scientists and technologists, and wasa prime motivation in navigation and astronomy. Periodic events andperiodic motion have long served as standards for units of time.Examples include the apparent motion of the sun across the sky, thephases of the moon, the swing of a pendulum, and the beat of a heart.Currently, the international unit of time, the second, is defined interms of radiation emitted by cesium atoms.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “timestamp” refersto a sequence of characters, denoting the date and/or time at which acertain event occurred. This data is usually presented in a consistentformat, allowing for easy comparison of two different records andtracking progress over time; the practice of recording timestamps in aconsistent manner along with the actual data is called timestamping.Timestamps are typically used for logging events, in which case eachevent in a log is marked with a timestamp. In file systems, timestampmay mean the stored date/time of creation or modification of a file. TheInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO) has defined ISO8601 which standardizes timestamps.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “visual displaydevice” or “visual display apparatus” includes any type of visualdisplay device or apparatus such as a CRT monitor, LCD screen, LEDs, aprojected display, a printer for printing out an image such as a pictureand/or text, etc. A visual display device may be a part of anotherdevice such as a computer monitor, television, projector, telephone,cell phone, smartphone, laptop computer, tablet computer, handheld musicand/or video player, personal data assistant (PDA), handheld gameplayer, head mounted display, a heads-up display (HUD), a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver, automotive navigation system,dashboard, watch, microwave oven, electronic organ, automatic tellermachine (ATM) etc.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “web service” refersto the term defined by the W3C as “a software system designed to supportinteroperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network”. Webservices are frequently just web APIs that can be accessed over anetwork, such as the Internet, and executed on a remote system hostingthe requested services. The W3C Web service definition encompasses manydifferent systems, but in common usage the term refers to clients andservers that communicate using XML messages that follow the SOAPstandard. In such systems, there is often machine-readable descriptionof the operations offered by the service written in the Web ServicesDescription Language (WSDL). The latter is not a requirement of a SOAPendpoint, but it is a prerequisite for automated client-side codegeneration in many Java and .NET SOAP frameworks. Some industryorganizations, such as the WS-I, mandate both SOAP and WSDL in theirdefinition of a Web service. More recently, RESTful Web services havebeen regaining popularity. These also meet the W3C definition, and areoften better integrated with HTTP than SOAP-based services. They do notrequire XML messages or WSDL service-API definitions.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “wide area network(WAN)” refers to a data communications network that covers a relativelybroad geographic area (i.e. one city to another and one country toanother country) and that often uses transmission facilities provided bycommon carriers, such as telephone companies. WAN technologies generallyfunction at the lower three layers of the OSI reference model: thephysical layer, the data link layer, and the network layer.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “World Wide WebConsortium (W3C)” refers to the main international standardsorganization for the World Wide Web (abbreviated WWW or W3). It isarranged as a consortium where member organizations maintain full-timestaff for the purpose of working together in the development ofstandards for the World Wide Web. W3C also engages in education andoutreach, develops software and serves as an open forum for discussionabout the Web. W3C standards include: CSS, CGI, DOM, GRDDL, HTML, OWL,RDF, SVG, SISR, SOAP, SMIL, SRGS, SSML, VoiceXML, XHTML+Voice, WSDL,XACML, XHTML, XML, XML Events, Xforms, XML Information, Set, XML Schema,Xpath, Xquery and XSLT.

For the purposes of the present invention, the term “ZigBee” refers aspecification for a suite of high level communication protocols used tocreate personal area networks built from small, low-power digitalradios. ZigBee is based on an IEEE 802 standard. Though low-powered,ZigBee devices often transmit data over longer distances by passing datathrough intermediate devices to reach more distant ones, creating a meshnetwork; i.e., a network with no centralized control or high-powertransmitter/receiver able to reach all of the networked devices. Thedecentralized nature of such wireless ad-hoc networks make them suitablefor applications where a central node can't be relied upon. ZigBee maybe used in applications that require a low data rate, long battery life,and secure networking. ZigBee has a defined rate of 250 kbit/s, bestsuited for periodic or intermittent data or a single signal transmissionfrom a sensor or input device. Applications include wireless lightswitches, electrical meters with in-home-displays, traffic managementsystems, and other consumer and industrial equipment that requiresshort-range wireless transfer of data at relatively low rates. Thetechnology defined by the ZigBee specification is intended to be simplerand less expensive than other WPANs, such as Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi. Zigbeenetworks are secured by 128 bit encryption keys.

DESCRIPTION

In existing passive, integrating radiation monitoring devices, such asfilm, TLD or OSL sensors, incident radiation is accumulated and storedwithin the molecular structure of the sensor without any need ofelectrical power. This characteristic makes passive sensors ideal forsituations where the risk of a power interruption is unacceptable.Multiple radiation sensors are generally mounted in a holder containingone or more filters that alter the amounts, energies and types ofradiation able to reach the sensors. These filters typically sandwichthe sensors to achieve correct assessments when the radiation enters thedosimeter from various angles of incidence. To analyze the sensors, theymust be removed from between the filters and the holder and physicallypresented to the processing system required to elicit the quantitativeattribute exhibited by the sensor following exposure to radiation.

Radiation dosimeters based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)utilize an optical path whereby a stimulating beam of light canilluminate the OSL sensor(s) and the resultant radiation inducedluminescence can be routed back through the same or alternate opticalpath to a light detector such as a photomultiplier tube that quantifiesthe amount of luminescent light. For more information on OSL materialsand systems, see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,590 issued to Miller; U.S. Pat.No. 6,846,434 issued to Akselrod; U.S. Pat. No. 6,198,108 issued toSchweitzer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,685 issued to Yoder et al.; U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/768,094 filed by Akselrod et al.; all ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. See alsoOptically Stimulated Luminescence Dosimetry. Lars Botter-Jensen et al.,Elesevier, 2003; Klemic, G., Bailey, P., Miller, K., Monetti, M.External radiation dosimetry in the aftermath of radiological terroristevent, Rad. Prot. Dosim., in press; Akselrod, M. S., Kortov, V. S., andGorelova, E. A., Preparation and properties of Al2O3:C, Radiat. Prot.Dosim. 47, 159-164 (1993); and Akselrod, M. S., Lucas, A. C., Polf. J.C., McKeever, S. W. S. Optically stimulated luminescence of A1203:C,Radiation Measurements, 29, (3-4), 391-399 (1998), all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The present invention provides a new apparatus and system consisting ofmultiple sensor devices (including one or more passive, integratingelectronic radiation sensors, a MEMS accelerometer, a wirelesstransmitter and, optionally, a GPS, a thermistor, or other chemical,biological or EMF sensors) and computer algorithms and programs forcalculating the dose from the event (e.g., the personal doseequivalent), and for the simultaneous detection and wirelesstransmission of ionizing radiation, motion and global position for usein occupational and environmental dosimetry. The present invention is anew embodiment of existing sensors in a unique new product using newprocesses and algorithms to create a self-contained, passive,integrating dosimeter that constructs a unique record of eventintensity, location, time of the event, temperature and otherspecialized sensor data such as biological or chemical measurements.

Accordingly, aspects of the disclosed invention provide the use of MEMSand nanotechnology manufacturing techniques to encapsulate individualionizing radiation sensor elements within a radiation attenuatingmaterial that provides a “filtration bubble” around the sensor element,the use of multiple attenuating materials (filters) around multiplesensor elements, and the use of a software algorithm to discriminatebetween different types of ionizing radiation and different radiationenergy.

As shown in FIG. 1, an exemplary sensor array 100 comprising MEMS andnanotechnology manufacturing techniques are employed to create aconfiguration of encapsulating radiation attenuating material aroundrespective nanoscale radiation sensors. As illustrated, a plurality ofionizing radiation sensors 102 are provided and configurable, forexample, to be integrated on electronic chip circuitry, as discussedbelow. Ionizing radiation sensors 102 may include solid state sensortechnology including a detecting surface 114 of the sensor.

Ionizing radiation sensors 102 may be arranged into sensor arrays 204(FIG. 2) comprising one or more radiation sensors 102 and mounted on aprinted circuit board (PCB), for example, as described below.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first sensor 104 encapsulated, for example, in afilter material such as a specific radiation attenuating material 108 ora “filtration bubble” 110 having, for example, a prescribed thickness.Up to “n” sensors 106 may be manufactured and encapsulated in up to “n”different respective filtration bubbles 112, where each filtrationbubble can consist of a similar or different materials or similar ordifferent material thicknesses. In this example, filtration bubble 108corresponds to sensor 106 such that sensor 106 is surrounded orencapsulated by filtration bubble 108. In some preferred embodiments,the filtration bubble may comprise a spherical geometry. Materials ofthe filtration bubble may include thin metallic layers including, forexample, copper, tin, aluminum, tungsten, etc. The filtration bubblewill characteristically be comprised of radiation attenuatingmaterial(s) capable of filtering out, for example, alpha particles andbeta radiation. Filter material such as specific radiation attenuatingmaterial 108 or a “filtration bubble” provides an optimal angularresponse wherein the response of the sensor is independent of the angleof incidence of the radiation (or other measured quantity), i.e., theoutput of sensor 106 is the same (or “flat”) at all angles.

Additional aspects of the disclosed invention provide the use of MEMSand nanotechnology sensors to simultaneously detect motion, globalposition, radiation exposure, and a process, such as the use of asoftware algorithm, to correlate radiation exposure levels over timewith motion of the detector and with the global position of thedetector. Accordingly, features of disclosed embodiments enable, atleast, the following advantages: (1) providing the correlation ofradiation exposure levels with time, motion and global position of thedetector to provide unique and valuable information on how the exposureoccurred; (2) allowing the global position to detect either via anon-board GPS sensor or by a connected external electrical device, suchas a mobile smart device (e.g., smartphone), with a built-in GPS sensoror by estimation from a mesh of networked devices; (3) providingenablement such that the time, motion and global position can beoptionally recorded when the detected exposure exceeds a thresholdlevel.

Hardware components of the disclosed invention are further illustratedin FIG. 2 wherein modular sensors are integrated on a single chip orelectronic board 202 (e.g., PCB) thus forming an integrated sensormodule 200. Integrated sensor module 200 collects radiation data and isconfigured to ultimately transmit the data to a remote location such asa wireless base station or other wireless communications device. Theintegrated sensor module 200 is designed to be an independent sensorsystem that can be incorporated into many different form factor devices.The small size and self-contained nature of the integrated sensor module200 to be integrated into a wide range of devices such as a badge,nametag, key chain, bracelet, wrist watch, portable electronic device,MP3 Player, pager, cell phone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, glasses,article of clothing, wallet, purse or jewelry.

The primary sensor 220 can either be a single sensor, a linear array ofsensors, or a matrix of sensors to form the primary or modular sensorarray 204, for example employed from the sensor array 100 of FIG. 1.Thus the modular sensor array 204 may utilize only a first sensor #1(212). Alternatively, modular sensor array 204 may comprise n number ofrows such as from first sensor #1 (212) to sensor # n (214).Alternatively and/or in addition, modular sensor array 204 may include mnumber of columns such as from first sensor #1 (212) to sensor # m(216). Thus, having n number of rows and m number of columns, modularsensor array 204 would extend from first sensor #1 (212) to sensor # m,n (218).

While ionizing radiation sensors 102 encapsulated within “filtrationbubbles” 108 are shown for illustrative purposes, those skilled in theart will readily appreciate that the modular sensor array 220 mayconsist of other suitable types of sensors (e.g., for non-ionizingradiation, hazardous chemicals, or other biochemical substances).Alternative embodiments of the disclosed invention may also includechemical or other sensors in addition and/or as an alternative toionizing radiation sensor 102. The present invention describes anintegrated modular sensor 200 that provides unique information about thelocation and the motion of the sensor when a measurement is obtained.The modular nature of the described platform and device enables the useof other individual sensors or as variable combination of sensors chosento meet the needs of potential end users. The modularity is achieved bydeveloping the measurement devices as interchangeable modules that canbe coupled to a central processing unit (CPU) that handles thecollection of time, motion, position and temperature and thecommunication.

The primary sensor array 220 may be integrated with a motion and globalposition sensor package The motion and global position sensor package206 will consist of a single 3-axis MEMS based accelerometer 222 thatwill determine if a primary data exposure occurs while the device isstationary or in motion as measured on a continual basis. A primary dataexposure is a radiological event recorded by the primary sensor array220. The motion and global position sensor package 206 will consist of aglobal position radio 223 that will determine its position by either theon-board GPS radio 223 and/or by a connected wireless-enabled mobiledevice (e.g., smart phone or tablet with GPS sensing capability, etc.)or by estimation through a mesh of networked devices. To minimize powerconsumption of the primary power source the device will preferentiallydetermine location through GPS sensors with the lowest power meansavailable to it. First by the connected wireless-enabled mobile devicewith GPS capability, second by onboard GPS sensor and third byestimation through a mesh of networked devices.

A wireless system on a chip (SOC) module 208 is configured to integratedsensor module 200. The wireless SOC module 208 is an integrated packageconsisting of a central processing unit and the wireless transceiver.Combining the wireless transceiver into the CPU chip in a SOCconfiguration allows a reduction in footprint and energy consumption.The wireless system on a chip (SOC) module 208 permits wirelesstransmission from integrated sensor module 200, for example, to awireless receiver of another electronic device for electroniccommunication purpose(s). Such communications ability facilitatesefforts, for example, in determining whether integrated sensor module200 is within range of the aforementioned electronic device as furtherdiscussed below.

The present invention uses energy harvesting through micro mechanicalsystems (MEMS) and photovoltaic systems to recharge the internal batteryand extend the powered lifetime of the integrated sensor module 200.Embodiments of the disclosed invention also extend previous work usingthe MEMS devices of the integrated sensor module 200 to convert resonantand vibrational mechanical motion into electrical energy andphotovoltaic cells to convert ambient lighting into electrical energy.The present invention uses MEMS to convert the random mechanical energyof human motion into electrical energy, and photovoltaics to convertambient light into electrical energy, both of which can be stored in abattery on the device and later used to power the above-describedsensors of the integrated sensor module 200. MEMS based energyharvesting can be accomplished with piezoelectric, electrostatic ormagneto-static devices. Piezoelectric energy harvesters convertmechanical strain of vibration in electrical energy. Electrostaticenergy harvesters collect energy from the changing capacitance ofvibrating separation of charged parallel plate capacitors.Magneto-static energy harvesters collect energy through the motion of amagnet near an electric coil, such that the changing magnetic field ofthe moving magnet induces current flow in the electric coil.Photovoltaic energy harvesters are based on solar cells that convertsolar or ambient indoor light into electric current. The power harvester210 will consist of one or more energy harvesting devices. A powerharvester 210 is incorporated into the integrated sensor module 200 andconnected to the battery. Power harvester 210 collects energy via motionand/or movement of the integrated sensor module 200 and the ambientlight to recharge the battery that supplies power to electronic board202. Thus, the present invention will actively consume power as itoperates and actively communicates to external wireless enabled devices.Power harvester 210 leverages existing work within the MEMS devices toconvert periodic (resonant) vibrational mechanical motion intoelectrical energy to extend the battery that powers the runtime of theradiation measurement sensor capability of the integrated sensor module200.

Through extensive historical data on the dose levels of personalmonitoring radiation detectors it has been determined that 95% of usersreceive normal occupational level doses. By optionally collecting motionand position only when the detected exposure exceeds a preset threshold.The power consumption of the device can be greatly reduced. Thecombination of primary exposure data, time, motion and location createsa unique data set which may provide information about the location ofradiation fields and the motion of the users through those fields.

Embodiments of the disclosed invention enable the use of ultra-low-powerwireless transmission to transmit measured sensor readings from thesensor device 202 to a wireless-enabled mobile device (e.g., asmartphone or tablet device, etc.), and the transmission of thisinformation over a wired or wireless data network to an Internet-basedserver.

The uniquely configured electronic modular configuration of thedisclosed invention provides several advantages. The filter material ismachine pressed into a spherical shape, and the resulting “filtrationbubble” 110 is mechanically pressed into the circuit board containingthe ionizing radiation sensor elements 102. Disclosed embodiments of theinvention will enact a unique software algorithm (as detailed below) toenable the discrimination between different types of ionizing radiationand different radiation energies. This enables a unique customization ofthe energy discrimination filtration scheme to improve the accuracy andenergy resolution of ionizing radiation measurements using a passiveradiation detector.

Radiation attenuating materials 108 are used to modify the response ofnon-tissue equivalent sensors to allow varying responses to a wide rangeof radiation qualities. The modified response can then be used by analgorithm to derive the tissue equivalent dose. Currently macro-filtersutilized in convention sensor devices have several shortcomings thatlimit the effectiveness of algorithms by introducing uncontrolledvariances. The use of MEMS and nanotechnology manufacturing process toencapsulate the radiation sensors with “filtration bubble” 110 providesseveral advantages over the traditional macro-filters that will helpeliminate the uncontrolled variances. The use of precise MEMS andnanotechnology manufacturing processes allows for the elimination ofmacro scale variances in the separation of the filter, thickness of thefilter and location of the filter. The filtration bubble 110 willeliminate macro scale issues with angular dependence of the filtration.The filtration bubble 110 will also provide a protective layer over thesensitive and possibly fragile sensor 102. The use of multipleattenuating materials 108 around multiple sensors 102 with the use of asoftware algorithm will allow increased levels of fine discriminationbetween types of ionizing radiation and radiation energy.

Additional advantages of the described embodiments of the presentinvention utilize MEMS and nanotechnology sensors to simultaneouslydetect radiation and other exposure, temperature, time, motion andglobal position, in combination with an employed software algorithm tocorrelate exposure levels. Detection occurs with the time, motion andglobal position of the integrated sensor module 200 wherein the chip 200provides unique and valuable information on how the exposure occurred.The use of modular exposure sensors enables the detection and analysisof exposure to a wide range of phenomena including, for example,radiological, chemical, biological and electromagnetic sources ofexposure. The use of time, motion and position further enables thedetermination of whether the integrated sensor module 200 was movingduring an exposure event (e.g., static versus dynamic exposures), andwhen and where the exposure occurred. The present invention replaces thecomputationally intensive and time-consuming post-processing andanalysis that is currently used by convention sensor devices todetermine static versus dynamic exposures. The present invention alsoprovides new time, position and other information that can may be usedto accurately characterize the source and nature of the exposure. Thiscapability may be particularly important/useful in occupationaldosimetry. The inclusion of a temperature sensor is disclosedembodiments enables correction of measurements for temperature-basedvariance.

Furthermore, the present invention expands the capabilities andapplication of traditional, standalone dosimeters by allowing collecteddata to be transmitted to a central location for processing andredistribution as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a remote sensornetwork 300 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.Integrated sensor module 200 is integrated into a dosimetry badge 310.Dosimetry badge 310 is illustrated as a package, for example, includingthe disclosed electronics packaging including integrated sensor module200, batteries and a cover of the present invention. Integrated sensormodule 200 collects radiation data and ultimately transmits the data toa remote location such as a wireless base station or other wirelesscommunications device such as mobile communications device 308. A remotesensor chip of integrated sensor module 200 may be utilized to transmitthe data. In this case, the data may be transmitted via an unspecifiedwireless transmission communication protocol 312 such as Bluetooth®,ZigBee, ANT, or other standard Wi-Fi protocol, etc.

Examples of mobile communication device 308 may include, for example, asmart phone, tablet or a mobile hot-spot, or it might be a non-mobilenetwork device such as a dedicated base station. Mobile communicationdevice 308 may be configured to include a wireless transmitter andreceiver 316, data network interface 318, and GPS 320. Wireless systemon a chip (SOC) module 208 of integrated sensor module 200 is configuredto communicate with wireless transmitter and receiver 316. The wirelesstransmitter and receiver may be a low powered wireless network interfacefor the mobile communication device 308. The network interface allowsthe mobile communication device 308 to communicate with the integratedmodular wireless sensor chip 200 to download collected data. Theaforementioned communication facilitates the determination of whethermobile communication device 308 is in range of integrated sensor module200.

Mobile communication device 308 may also be configured to include a datanetwork interface 318. The data network interface 318 allows mobilecommunication device 308 to communicate to another wide area wirelessnetwork 306 such as via data network transmission communication protocol314. Examples of data network transmission communication protocol 314may include Wifi, GSM/EDGE, CDMA, UTMS/HSPA+, LTE or other high speedwireless data communication network. Thus, in an exemplary embodiment,Bluetooth® may be employed to communicate between the dosimetry badge310 and mobile communication device 308 (such as via wirelesstransmission communication protocol 312), and the use of LTE tocommunicate between mobile communication device 308 and wireless network306 (such as via data network transmission communication protocol 314)of a remote facility such as a hospital or laboratory. In this example,the local network may be represented by wireless network 306 and thepublic network may be indicated by as public data network 302. Bycommunicating, for example, over the public data network 302, theaforementioned remote facility, such as a hospital or laboratory, mayreach, access and/or process information deposited on distributed dataserver 804.

GPS 320 enables mobile communication device 308 to determine theposition of the radiological event. The GPS 320 radio in the mobilecommunication device 308 provides an alternative means of thedetermining the position of the integrated sensor module 200. If theintegrated sensor module 200 has been paired with a mobile communicationdevice 308, it will preferentially use GPS sensor 320 to determinelocation to minimize its own power consumption.

Wireless network 306 is configured to communicate with the public datanetwork (e.g., the Internet) 302. A remote data server 304 is configuredto communicate with a public data network (e.g., the Internet) 302.

With an electronic data transmission link formed between mobilecommunication device 308 and remote data server 304, integrated sensormodule 200 is capable of transmitting measured data such as to anultra-low-power wireless-enabled mobile communication device 308 (e.g.,a smart phone, tablet or other mobile or non-mobile network device) toleverage the mobile device's existing data or cellular network tocommunicate collected information to a central web server and,optionally, to use the mobile communication device GPS, or to processthe collected data using the mobile communication device CPU. Currently,standalone sensor devices have limited power capacity that must beconserved as much as possible in order to extend battery life.Ultra-low-power wireless communication minimizes the power consumptionof device for regular updates. Furthermore, typical data or cellularcommunication antennas can consume significant power, so utilizing anexternal mobile communication device also limits the complexity ofradiation sensor.

Thus, the use of ultra-low-power wireless transmission capability of thepresent invention allows transmission of measured sensor readings fromintegrated sensor module 200 to a wireless-enabled mobile device 308(e.g., a smartphone or tablet device, etc.), and the transmission ofthis information over a wireless data network 306 to an Internet-basedserver 302. This enables the analysis and reporting of measured dosesfor individual detectors employing integrated sensor module 200 withouthaving to physically send the detector itself to a central location forreading and analysis. The reduces costs and valuable time for receivingdata and performing critical analysis. Embodiments of the presentinvention also allow for multiple systems to receive a plurality ofmeasured doses from a plurality of detectors having integrated sensormodule 200. The collection of sensor data from multiple systems enablesthe analysis and visualization and geographic-based mapping of exposuresources and related population-based trends over time. The connection tothe Internet also enables the remote update and troubleshooting of thedevice.

Disclosed embodiments of the present invention may include mounting theintegrated sensor module 200, for example, on multiple, low-cost,semi-autonomous unmanned airborne vehicles (UAV's) such as low-power RFhelicopters. A flocking-algorithm may be employed to cause the “flock”of devices to track the position and distribution of airborne radiation,chemicals or other phenomena while remaining in the flock and where thedistribution of the flock would correlate with the distribution of theairborne material being tracked.

Thus, in select embodiments, the disclosed invention enables theintegration of the integrated sensor module 200 into a mobile platformthat may consist of multiple semi-autonomous UAV's to track the positionand distribution of airborne materials (radiation, chemicals, biologicalagents, electromagnetic fields, etc.). The UAV-integrated sensors mayutilize flocking algorithms to coordinate between multiple UAV's andtrack the position and distribution of airborne particles. Turning toFIG. 4 an exemplary autonomous mobile sensor (AMS) network 400 isillustrated. As shown in FIG. 4, the airborne (or waterborne) particles402 will tend to cluster and then distribute depending, for example,upon prevailing weather patterns. Autonomous mobile sensors (AMS) 404,406 are shown tracking respective distributed target particles 408, 410.The flocking algorithm will update the position of all UAVs 404, 406 byusing a Sensor Force, Fs, proportional to the measurement from thesensor array 204 on the UAV, and a Flocking Force, Ff, proportional tothe distance to nearby UAV's, to continually optimize the positions ofthe UAV sensors 404, 406 and to best track the position of the targetparticles 408, 410. As a result, the distribution of the flock will alsocorrelate with the distribution of the airborne material being tracked.

In another embodiment the disclosed invention may include mountingintegrated sensor module 200 on multiple, low-cost, semi-autonomous andunmanned water-based vehicles and tracking, for example, waterborneparticles. Again, the use of the previously described flocking-algorithmmay be employed to coordinate between multiple unmanned water-basedvehicles and to track the position and distribution of any water-basedradiation, chemicals or other phenomena.

Advantages of the disclosed invention provide the first use of MEMS andnanotechnology to create a passive integrating electronic ionizingradiation detector with active readout capability and withmotion-sensing and position-sensing capabilities and wirelesstransmission of the sensor readings. Current active dosimeters requirecontinuous power in order to measure dose. Additionally, current passivedosimeters do not provide immediate access to recorded dosemeasurements. Alternatively, the active readout of a passive radiationsensor disclosed by the present invention provides immediate access todose information while preserving dose information in the event of powerloss. In addition, the present invention describes an electronicplatform for recording motion, temperature and position with modularenvironmental sensors for comprehensive personal and environmentalmonitoring.

An exemplary integrated sensor module logic flow 500 for integratedsensor module 200 is represented in FIG. 5. A command 502 for readingthe sensor is executed. Command 502 includes pre-reading ahigh-sensitivity sensor 504 to determine if there is a new thresholddose 506 on the sensor.

In determining whether there is a new threshold dose 506 on the sensor,the sensor is enabled to continuously accumulate dose values. When apre-read is performed on the high-sensitivity sensor, a cumulative valueis generated. The previous dose value is subtracted from the cumulativevalue generated from the pre-read to generate a delta (Δ) value. If thedelta (Δ) value above a prescribed dose threshold, then a triggermeasurement is taken in step 508. If the delta (Δ) value is not abovethe prescribed dose threshold then a loopback function is performed totake continuous measurements at a timed interval to read the sensor 502.Described embodiments continuously loop back to pre-readhigh-sensitivity sensor 504 until a delta (Δ) dose value is detected tobe higher than the prescribed dose threshold value. Once a delta (Δ)dose value is detected to be higher than the prescribed dose thresholdvalue, a trigger measurement 508 is enabled to simultaneously read asolid-state sensor array 510 (also see FIG. 6) and read-out of the eventdata or point of exposure in time 512 (also see FIG. 7).

One disclosed embodiment of the sensor readout logic flow diagram isillustrated in FIG. 6. The solid-state sensor array read-out 600 is thecomponent of the disclosed invention that reads the entire sensor array.A reading from the high sensitivity sensor indicates that the minimumincremental dose threshold has been reached. The high sensitivity sensoris solely intended to indicate when the threshold dose has beenexceeded. Once the threshold dose has been exceeded the full dose willbe read. The full dose can be read from a 1-D array, a 2-D array or a3-D matrix. A 1-D array may just be a row of sensors. A 2-D array may bea table of sensors or a matrix of sensors. A 3-D array would be if youstack up multiple 2-D arrays. We can have multiple ways of reading thisout. We could either read each sensor individually 602, or we mightread-out along an entire row or column of sensors 604, or we might sumup the output from all of the sensors 606, or you could readout a customconfiguration (e.g., four of the sensors in each quadrant if there wasan array of multiple sensors (e.g., sixteen sensors). Hence, disclosedembodiments of the described invention provide multiple ways of readinga solid-state sensor array.

One disclosed embodiment of the sensor readout logic flow diagram isillustrated in FIG. 6. The solid-state sensor array read-out 600 is thecomponent of the disclosed invention that reads the entire sensor array.In one example, the high sensitivity sensor may be affixed to a badge.In an event where the badge is exposed to ionizing radiation thedisclosed invention can read out the full dose of exposure. Disclosedembodiments provide the ability to read individual, a whole array ofsensors, and a custom configuration of sensors. Accordingly, for variousconfigurations of sensors, the invention may generate readings, forexample, for individual sensors 602 such as a one-dimensional arrayincluding, for example, a row of sensors. In addition to oralternatively, dimensional arrays of sensors may be read by disclosedembodiments to include, for example, a table of sensors or a matrix ofsensors. Such embodiments of sensor configurations may include atwo-dimensional array of sensors including, for example, one or morerows or one or more columns of sensors. Disclosed embodiments may alsoprovide a three-dimensional array, for example, including one or moretwo-dimensional arrays stacked upon one another. Thus, disclosedembodiments may either read sensors individually 602, perform atwo-dimensional read-out, for example, along an entire row or column ofsensors 604, or perform a sum of all of the output from all of thesensors 606, or perform a readout for a custom configuration of sensors(e.g., four of the sensors in each quadrant if there was an array ofmultiple sensors (e.g., sixteen sensors)). Hence, disclosed embodimentsof the described invention provide multiple ways of reading asolid-state sensor array.

Disclosed embodiments provide electronic sensing circuitry to generatean analog measurement. The analog measurement is preferably converted toa digital measure utilizing standard analog to digital conversioncircuitry 610. From the digital data, the dose 612 is calculated byimplementing an algorithm of the disclosed invention for calculating thedose on a system on a chip (SOC) (e.g., via an arm processor). Thecalculated dose value is then recorded on a data record 614 which mayessentially generate a log of all of the readings on a continuous basis.

In parallel with the solid-state sensor array read-out 600 of FIG. 6,the disclosed invention executes a read-out of the event data or pointof exposure in time 512. The point of exposure read-out logic flow 700is illustrated in FIG. 7 and may be executed via parallel circuitry. Anon-board MEMS accelerometer device 702 is read to determine if thesensor is in motion. Next, the position of the sensor is estimated 704.This may be accomplished, for example, by reading the GPS sensor on theintegrated sensor module or by communicating with a mobile device (e.g.,cell phone) in which the GPS function of the mobile device is utilizedto determine the geospatial position. The GPS receiver of the mobiledevice determines position by precisely timing the signals sent by GPSsatellites. Each satellite continually transmits messages that includethe time the message was transmitted and the satellite position at thetime of message transmission. The GPS receiver uses the messages itreceives to determine the transit time of each message and computes thedistance to each satellite using the speed of light. Each of thesedistances and satellites' locations define a sphere. The receiver is onthe surface of each of these spheres when the distances and thesatellites' locations are correct. These distances and satellites'locations are used to compute the location of the receiver usingnavigation equations. In another embodiment, the position may beestimated by triangulating the position such as from a known wirelesshub with which the sensor is communicating. Wireless triangulation isthe process of determining a location of a point by measuring signalstrength between several nodes of the wireless network. A time stamp isgenerated 706 to record the time at which a measurement was taken. Thismeasure correlates to the motion (e.g., point at which on-board MEMSaccelerometer device is read 702) and position (e.g., the estimatedposition of the sensor 704) at the time the sensor was read. The timestamp readings 706 may then be exported or recorded to the data log.Thus, the exposure event is captured in the data record 708.

Turning again to FIG. 5, the above description outlines the generationof a dose value 510 and a point of exposure in time 512 in the log orrecorded data records 614 and 708, respectively, to generate a completedata record 514. The complete data record 514 is saved or updated to therecord log and the Send Timer is checked 516. The Send Timer determineswhen data should be uploaded to the base station 802 or mobilecommunication device 308 based on a programmable Time To Send value. Forexample, if the dose exceeds a prescribed threshold value or if theprescribed time has elapsed, then the dose value is transmitted andrecorded 522. If the Time to Send value has not been reached, then thedevice will return to reading 520.

The wireless transmission is started 524 in order to initiate sending asignal from the sensor wireless transmitter 208 of the integrated sensormodule 200, for example, to wireless receiver 316 of mobilecommunication device 308. The sensor's wireless transmitter 208 looksfor a handshake response from the wireless transmitter 316 of the mobilecommunications device 308 to determine if the device is in range forfurther communication. Sensor wireless transmitter 208 of the integratedsensor module 200 can be configured to communicate with anotherelectronic communications device, such as base station 802, to determineif it is within range of the electronic communications device. If areceiver is within range and a response is received, then the operationcontinues 528. If a determination is made that the sensor is not inrange, then a determination of “no” is made 526 and the operationreturns to read the sensor 502 again. When a determination is made thatthe sensor is in range, a determination of “yes” is made 528, and thedata record is transmitted such that the log is updated to show that thedata record has been transmitted 530 and to record that the system hasbeen updated. A continuous, never-ending number of readings may occur oras needed in the integrated sensor module logic flow 500.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed invention incommunication with a wireless sensor base station configuration 800. Oneor more generalized data servers can be connected to a public datanetwork, such as the Internet, to provide an event repository whereinall of the event data is stored in one or more databases accessible overthe Internet, and wherein further data analysis can be performed. TheInternet is sometimes referred to The Cloud, and access to data over TheCloud for further analysis is sometimes referred to as Cloud Computing.

Dosimetry badge 310 is illustrated as a package containing, for example,the disclosed electronics packaging including integrated sensor module200, batteries and a cover of the present invention. Using the algorithm(FIGS. 6 and 7), the integrated sensor module 200 is configured totransmit data to a wireless communications device such as a wirelesssensor base station 802. Dosimetry badge 310 may communicate withwireless sensor base station 802 via an unspecified wirelesstransmission communication protocol including, for example, Bluetooth®,Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ZigBee, ANT, ANT+ or other standard wirelesscommunications protocols.

Wireless sensor base station 802 includes a wireless transmitter andreceiver 816. Wireless system on a chip (SOC) module 208 of integratedsensor module 200 communicates with wireless transmitter and receiver816 to determine whether base station 802 is in range of integratedsensor module 200 as discussed, for example, in step 532 of FIG. 5above. Wireless sensor base station 802 may also include a data networkinterface 818. Data network interface 818 allows wireless sensor basestation 802 to communicate to another wireless network such as via datanetwork transmission communication protocol 314. Thus, in an exemplaryembodiment, Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) may be employed to communicatebetween the dosimetry badge 310 and wireless sensor base station 802(such as via wireless transmission communication protocol 312), andWi-Fi may be employed to communicate between wireless sensor basestation 802 and wireless network 306 (such as via data networktransmission communication protocol 314) of a remote facility such as ahospital or laboratory. In this example, the local network may berepresented by wireless network 306 and the public network may beindicated by as public data network 302. By communicating, for example,over the public data network 302, the aforementioned remote facility,such as a hospital or laboratory, may reach, access and/or processinformation deposited on distributed data server 804.

In an optional configuration, wireless sensor base station 802 mayinclude integrated sensor module 200. This configuration enableswireless sensor base station 802 as an event sensing device as well,acting, for example, as an environmental sensor.

As previously discussed, disclosed embodiments of the invention willemploy a unique software algorithm to enable the discrimination betweendifferent types of ionizing radiation and different radiation energies.This enables a unique customization of the energy discriminationfiltration scheme to improve the accuracy and energy resolution ofionizing radiation measurements using a passive radiation detector.Disclosed embodiments provide electronic sensing circuitry to generatean analog measurement. The analog measurement is preferably converted toa digital measure utilizing standard analog to digital conversioncircuitry 610. From the digital data, the dose 612 is calculated byimplementing the algorithm of the disclosed invention for calculatingthe dose on a system on a chip (SOC) (e.g., via an arm processor).Select embodiments may employ, for example, a machine readable mediumhaving stored thereon sequences of instructions, which when executed byone or more processors, cause one or more electronic devices to performa set of operations to perform the aforementioned algorithm. Thecalculated dose value is then recorded on a data record 614 which mayessentially generate a log of all of the readings on a continuous basis.

Accordingly, an embodiment of the invention provides a numericallyoptimized dose calculation algorithm for accurate and reliable personaldosimetry. Disclosed embodiments provided a computational procedure togenerate numerically optimized dose calculation algorithms for personaldosimeters using multiple dosimeter elements (typically two-to-fourelements). Current embodiments provide a description of how methods ofthe present invention transforms dosimeter signals to operationalquantities for personal dose equivalents such as Hp(10), Hp(3), andHp(0.07). Some advantages of the computational procedure of thedisclosed invention include the ability to automatically generate anumerically optimized algorithm, the absence of branching or empiricaldecision points, and fast computation speed.

The accurate and reliable measurement of a personal dose equivalent is akey component of radiation dosimetry programs. The personal doseequivalent is typically measured over a wide range of energies and fromdifferent radiation sources, including, for example, x-ray and gammaphotons, beta particles and neutrons. In order to accurately estimatethe dose from different radiation sources, some personal dosimetersincorporate multiple detector elements, each with varying types ofradiation filtration materials, and use a dose calculation algorithm, tocalculate the personal dose equivalent from a numerical combination ofthe responses from each detector element.

One approach to calculate the dose is to use a simple linear combinationof detector element responses. Such approaches are straight-forward andeasy to implement, but may be highly sensitive to noise and often do notreliably provide an accurate estimate of the dose under realisticconditions. Another approach is to use empirically-determined branchingand decision points. According to exemplary embodiments, this approachis relatively easy to implement, and improves performance under someconditions, but the empirical decisions are unique to specificconditions, and often subject to systematic biases. Techniques forapplying both linear combination and branching methods to radiationdosimetry have been developed, for example, by N. Stanford (e.g., see N.Stanford, Whole Body Dose Algorithm for the Landauer InLight NextGeneration Dosimeter. Algorithm Revision: Next Gen IEC; Sep. 13, 2010and N. Stanford, Whole Body Dose Algorithm for the Landauer InLight NextGeneration Dosimeter, Algorithm Revision: Next Gen NVLAP; Sep. 27,2010).

The present invention provides MATRIX i.e., a computational procedure toautomatically generate a dose calculation algorithm that is numericallyoptimized for a particular dosimeter type (i.e., a particularcombination of dosimeter detector elements and filters). In order tominimize systematic bias the disclosed embodiment, i.e., MATRIXcalculates a weighted average from representative data, such that no oneirradiation field, detector or ratio of detector signals dominates theresultant dose. The following describes the computational procedure usedto generate a numerically-optimized dose calculation algorithm for apersonal dosimeter using a matrix of element responses obtained frommeasurements of that type of dosimeter.

Given a personal dosimeter consisting, for example, of multiple filtereddetector elements, the detected signal from each detector element iscalled the element response, and the array of element responses from agiven dosimeter is called the detector's element response pattern. For agiven type of dosimeter, the matrix resulting from multiple detectorelement responses at different but known irradiations is called theelement response matrix.

The element response matrix is created by exposing a dosimeter to knownirradiations at different angles and to mixtures of individual ormultiple sources, and then reading the element responses from eachdetector element. The element response pattern from an unknownirradiated dosimeter is then compared to the patterns in the elementresponse matrix, and a dose is calculated for each source in theresponse matrix. The final reported dose is the sum of all theindividual source doses weighted by a Source Probability Factor. TheSource Probability Factor is a measure of how closely the elementresponse pattern of the unknown dosimeter matches the individual elementresponse pattern of known sources.

The steps in the disclosed embodiment, i.e., MATRIX computationalprocedure 900 are summarized in Table 1 of FIG. 9, and eachcomputational procedure is described in the corresponding sectionsbelow.

In step 902, the dosimeter element responses and the correspondingdosimeter response matrix for that type of dosimeter are input, and thenthe converted values are calculated. For dosimeters employing opticallysimulated luminescence (OSL) such as LANDAUER's InLight® dosimeters, thedosimeter element responses correspond to the photomultiplier countsfrom the InLight® Reader. The convened values are calculated from thePMT counts as shown in Equation 1:

${ConV}_{n} = \frac{P\; M\; T\mspace{14mu} {Counts}_{n}}{{Sensit} \times {Reader\_ Cal}{\_ Factor}}$

The response matrix corresponding to the dosimeter type may be read fromcomputer storage. In one disclosed example, e.g., for LANDAUER InLight®dosimeters, the response matrix contains entries (variables) describingthe source, the individual element responses, the deep dose equivalent(DDE) conversion factor, and the standard deviations of the responses.

The response matrix selection may be based on empirically derived rules.In order to achieve optimal performance in a certain application, therange of sources in the response matrix is restricted. This techniquemay cause a systematic error if radiation conditions occur outside theselected range. An implementation of the disclosed embodiment usingselection cuts is described, for example, in Brahim Moreno, LDR-EuropeTechnical Report on a Hybrid MATRIX-Branching dose calculationalgorithm, 2013.

Next a dose calculation may be performed. Given a set of measuredconverted values, the first step is to calculate G1−4 for each field inthe response matrix. Note that the values of G for a given fieldindicate what the SDE would be if the given field matched the actualincident field to the dosimeter.

The expected value of the SDE for a given field could be taken as thesimple average of G over the detector elements. This however would beinsufficient due to the fact that for some incident radiation fields,several detectors may have signals with high levels of uncertainty. Thisturns out to be the case with 85 Kr β-rays incident upon detectors withfiltration over 0.1 g/cc in density thickness. Because of this field isweakly penetrating, the signals received from the filtered elements aretoo low relative to the noise level to use them to calculate dose.

A way to calculate dose using only detectors with a good signal is toweight the signal of each detector by a factor inversely proportional tothe expected uncertainty and then perform a weighted average over thedetectors. The first set is to define the expected uncertainty. Assumethat each response matrix entry is determined from data for which thecounting statistics were negligible (high dose). This error is acombination of the uncertainties due to the irradiation, reading,handling, and material variability. This combined error is computed asthe standard deviation of the data used to generate the response matrix,it is symbolized by σ.

The expected value of the SDE for field j is given by G _(j). The totaluncertainty for the ith detector element and jth radiation field is bysymbolized by σ _(ij).

$\begin{matrix}{{\overset{\_}{G}}_{j} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{4}\frac{G_{ij}}{\sigma_{ij}^{2}}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{4}\frac{1}{\sigma_{ij}^{2}}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

A goodness of fit statistic for a single radiation field, j, is given inEquation 3.

$\begin{matrix}{s_{j} = \sqrt{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{4}( \frac{G_{ij} - {\overset{\_}{G}}_{j}}{\sigma_{ij}{\overset{\_}{G}}_{j}} )^{2}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

The weighting factor for field j is given in Equation 4.

$\begin{matrix}{W_{j} = \frac{1}{( {c^{2_{j}} - 1} )^{2}}} & (4)\end{matrix}$

Now that a weighting factor has been assigned to each field in theresponse matrix, the reported SDE value, Grep, is calculated. This isdone by taking the weighted sum of the expected values for eachradiation field G _(j), over the entire response matrix. This is givenin Equation 5, where the sum is performed over a response matrix of Nfields.

$\begin{matrix}{G_{rep} = \frac{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N}{W_{j}{\overset{\_}{G}}_{j}}}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N}W_{j}}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

The quantification of similarity between the response pattern of ameasured set of converted values and the fields in the response matrixcan be derived using any optimization technique. Equations 3-4 are basedon the χ² minimization. The source specific statistic and weightingfactor are an empirical measure of how well the pattern of a set ofmeasured converted values matches the patterns found in the responsematrix.

In step 904, a check for error conditions is performed. In this step,common error conditions are checked and, if detected, the appropriateerror conditions are set. The dose is not reported if a serious errorcondition is detected.

In step 906, dose values are calculated for each source in the responsematrix. In this step, a weighted value for Hp(0.07) and Hp(10) arecalculated for each element to form the response pattern for thisdosimeter. Then a goodness of fit statistic is calculated, and then asource weighting factor is determined.

In step 908, disclosed embodiments calculate the total reportable doses.In this step, the weighted values for Hp(0.07) and Hp(10) for eachelement are summed, then the source weighting factors for each elementare summed. The reportable Hp(0.07) and Hp(10) doses are calculated.

In step 910, an estimate of the most likely source of radiation isperformed. In this step, the probable contribution of each source in theresponse matrix is estimated. In the currently disclosed algorithm, theprobable contribution of photons and beta particles is estimated.

In step 912, the final (net) dose values are calculated. In this step,the net dose is calculated by subtracting a control dose from thepreviously calculated dose. Only net doses greater than 1.0 mrem arereported.

In step 914, the net dose values are outputted, e.g., from memory tostorage device. In this step, the net dose is assigned to a specificdosimeter using the unique identification value stored in the dosimeterinformation database. The calculated Net Dose in computer memory isstored in the database (or exported to an external data file if needed.The results can be formatted to allow the generation of dose-of-recordcustomer dose reports as required by local, national or internationalregulations.

A flowchart 1000 of the disclosed computational procedure for employingan algorithm to generate numerically optimized radiation dosecalculations for personal dosimeters is illustrated in FIG. 10.Information/data from the dosimeter readout 1004, background radiationdose 1006 and response matric 1008 may be read and inputted from acomputer storage 1002 such as a computer disk and stored to a machinereadable medium such as memory 1010. The machine readable medium ormemory 1010 may have stored thereon sequences of instructions, whichwhen executed, for example, by one or more processors, may cause one ormore electronic devices to perform a set of operations to perform thedisclosed computer algorithm. The disclosed computer algorithm processesthe raw data (e.g., dosimeter readout 1004, background dose 1006, andresponse matrix 1008) and transforms it to useful information which maybe further written to a computer storage 1016 such as a computer diskwhere the information may be configured to be displayed as needed.

After the raw data is received to memory 1010, disclosed embodimentscheck for error conditions 1012. Common error conditions are checkedand, if detected, the error may be flagged 1014 and all errors may betracked/tabulated on computer storage 1016. If there is no error 1018,the raw data is processed by the disclosed computer algorithm 1020.Computer algorithm 1020 begins by applying a mathematical algorithmusing prescribed numerical procedures to optimize the response matrix.This may include calculating the expected source dose with adata-fitting procedure. The inputs are the converted values and sourceresponses. The response matrix weighting factor may be calculated usinga goodness-of-fit statistic. The weighting factors tell you how mucheach source contributes to the final dose. An optimization technique maybe selected based upon prescribed performance criteria. The Dosecontribution may be calculated from the product of the weighting factor,expected source does, and dose conversion factor for personal doseequivalent (e.g., Hp(10 mm), Hp (0.07 mm), and Hp (3 mm)).

Once the optimal fit is found/determined, the reportable doses arecalculated 1022 by summing the dose contributions for each source outputdose. Radiation quality is assessed 1024 by performing a sum over theweighting factors multiplied by the source energy and particleidentification. The radiation quality may be written to computer storage1028 such as to computer disk 1016. The net dose is calculated bysubtracting the reportable doses and background dose. The net doses maybe written to computer storage 1030 such as to computer disk 1016.

The devices and subsystems of the disclosed exemplary embodiments canstore information relating to various processes described herein. Thisinformation can be stored in one or more memories, such as a hard disk,optical disk, magneto-optical disk, RAM, and the like, of the devicesand subsystems of the disclosed exemplary embodiments. One or moredatabases of the devices and subsystems of the disclosed exemplaryembodiments can store the information used to implement the exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. The databases can be organizedusing data structures (e.g., records, tables, arrays, fields, graphs,trees, lists, and the like) included in one or more memories or storagedevices listed herein. The processes described with respect to thedisclosed exemplary embodiments can include appropriate data structuresfor storing data collected and/or generated by the processes of thedevices and subsystems of the disclosed exemplary embodiments in one ormore databases thereof.

All or a portion of the devices and subsystems of the disclosedexemplary embodiments can be conveniently implemented using one or moregeneral purpose computer systems, microprocessors, digital signalprocessors, micro-controllers, and the like, programmed according to theteachings of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as willbe appreciated by those skilled in the computer and software arts.Appropriate software can be readily prepared by programmers of ordinaryskill based on the teachings of the exemplary embodiments, as will beappreciated by those skilled in the software art. In addition, thedevices and subsystems of the disclosed exemplary embodiments can beimplemented by the preparation of application-specific integratedcircuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventionalcomponent circuits, as will be appreciated by those skilled in theelectrical art(s). Thus, the exemplary embodiments are not limited toany specific combination of hardware circuitry and/or software.

Stored on any one or on a combination of computer readable media, theexemplary embodiments of the present invention can include software forcontrolling the devices and subsystems of the disclosed exemplaryembodiments, for driving the devices and subsystems of the disclosedexemplary embodiments, for enabling the devices and subsystems of thedisclosed exemplary embodiments to interact with a human user, and thelike. Such software can include, but is not limited to, device drivers,firmware, operating systems, development tools, applications software,and the like. Such computer readable media further can include thecomputer program product of an embodiment of the present invention forperforming all or a portion (if processing is distributed) of theprocessing performed in implementing the disclosed exemplaryembodiments. Computer code devices of the exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention can include any suitable interpretable or executablecode mechanism, including but not limited to scripts, interpretableprograms, dynamic link libraries (DLLs). Java classes and applets,complete executable programs, Common Object Request Broker Architecture(CORBA) objects, and the like. Moreover, parts of the processing of theexemplary embodiments of the present invention can be distributed forbetter performance, reliability, cost, and the like.

As stated above, the devices and subsystems of the disclosed exemplaryembodiments can include computer readable medium or memories for holdinginstructions programmed according to the teachings of the presentinvention and for holding data structures, tables, records, and/or otherdata described herein. Computer readable medium can include any suitablemedium that participates in providing instructions to a processor forexecution. Such a medium can take many forms, including but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, transmission media, and thelike. Non-volatile media can include, for example, optical or magneticdisks, magneto-optical disks, and the like. Volatile media can includedynamic memories, and the like. Transmission media can include coaxialcables, copper wire, fiber optics, and the like. Transmission media alsocan take the form of acoustic, optical, electromagnetic waves, and thelike, such as those generated during radio frequency (RF)communications, infrared (IR) data communications, and the like. Commonforms of computer-readable media can include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other suitablemagnetic medium, a CD-ROM, CDRW, DVD, any other suitable optical medium,punch cards, paper tape, optical mark sheets, any other suitablephysical medium with patterns of holes or other optically recognizableindicia, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other suitablememory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave, or any other suitable mediumfrom which a computer can read.

While the present invention has been disclosed with references tocertain embodiments, numerous modifications, alterations, and changes tothe described embodiments are possible without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe described embodiments, but that it has the full scope defined by thelanguage of the following claims, and equivalents thereof.

1-48. (canceled)
 49. A device comprising: a radiation sensor arraycomprising one or more radiation sensors; wherein each of the one ormore radiation sensors is configured to provide an optimal angularresponse to radiation detected by each of the one or more radiationsensors; and wherein the optimal angular response of each of the one ormore radiation sensors is independent of the angle of incidence of theradiation detected by each of the one or more radiation sensors.
 50. Thedevice according to claim 49, wherein one or more radiation sensors aremounted on a printed circuit board (PCB).
 51. The device according toclaim 49, wherein one or more radiation sensors is surrounded by afilter material to provide an optimal angular response to radiation. 52.An autonomous mobile wireless sensor base station network for tracking aposition and distribution of materials comprising: an integrated sensormodule comprising: a radiation sensor array; an on-board motion sensor;an on-board geospatial positioning sensor; and an on-board wirelesstransmitter; wherein the radiation sensor array comprises one or moreradiation sensors; and wherein the optimal angular response of each ofthe one or more radiation sensors is independent of the angle ofincidence of the radiation detected by each of the one or more radiationsensors; a wireless sensor base station; a wireless network; a publicdata network; and a distributed data server, wherein the wireless sensorbase station is configured to communicate with the integrated sensormodule and the wireless network; wherein the wireless network is alsoconfigured to communicate with the public data network; and wherein thepublic data network is also configured to communicate with thedistributed data server.
 53. The device of claim 52, wherein thewireless sensor base station comprises: a wireless transmitter andreceiver; a data network interface; and a second integrated sensormodule comprising: an on-board motion sensor; an on-board geospatialpositioning sensor; an on-board wireless transmitter; and an on-boardtemperature sensor.
 54. The device of claim 52, wherein thecommunication between the wireless sensor base station and theintegrated sensor module occurs via an unspecified wireless transmissioncommunication protocol.
 55. The device of claim 52, wherein thecommunication between the wireless sensor base station and the wirelessnetwork occurs via data network transmission communication protocol. 56.The device of claim 52, wherein the communication between the wirelessnetwork and the public data network occurs via the Internet.
 57. Thedevice of claim 52, wherein the communication between the public datanetwork and the distributed data server occurs via the Internet.
 58. Anintegrated sensor module comprising: a radiation sensor array; anon-board motion sensor; an on-board geospatial positioning sensor; andan on-board wireless transmitter; wherein the radiation sensor arraycomprises one or more radiation sensors; and wherein the optimal angularresponse of each of the one or more radiation sensors is independent ofthe angle of incidence of the radiation detected by each of the one ormore radiation sensors.
 59. An autonomous mobile sensor network fortracking a position and distribution of materials comprising: anintegrated sensor module comprising: a radiation sensor array; anon-board motion sensor; an on-board geospatial positioning sensor; andan on-board wireless transmitter; wherein the radiation sensor arraycomprises one or more radiation sensors; wherein the optimal angularresponse of each of the one or more radiation sensors is independent ofthe angle of incidence of the radiation detected by each of the one ormore radiation sensors; a communication device; a wireless network; apublic data network; and a remote data server, wherein the communicationdevice is configured to communicate with the integrated sensor moduleand the wireless network; wherein the wireless network is alsoconfigured to communicate with the public data network; and wherein thepublic data network is also configured to communicate with the remotedata server.